Blasphemy is an inflammatory charge in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unproven accusations of insulting Islam and its prophet Muhammad can result in death at the hands of vigilantes.
How common is violence in Pakistan over blasphemy and why is it such a sensitive issue?
Since 1990, at least 85 people have been killed in connection with blasphemy accusations, according to local media and investigators.
They have included people accused of blasphemy, their children, lawyers, judges hearing their cases, and others.
The dead included members of religious minorities, prominent politicians, students, clergy and the mentally ill.
Announcement – Scroll to Continue
They have been burned alive, hanged by mobs, shot to death in courthouses, and hacked to death on the side of the road, among other forms of attack.
Since 2011, when Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer was shot dead by his bodyguard for calling for reform of blasphemy laws, widespread debate on the issue has been nearly impossible.
Today, spurious blasphemy accusations are often presented as a way to pressure opponents in disputes, including by top political leaders.
Announcement – Scroll to Continue
Taseer’s assassin was praised by many, and the assassination was followed by the rise of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a widely supported far-right party calling for the beheading of blasphemers.
The rise of the BPD has seen an increase in blasphemy cases filed on ideological grounds.
Most of those accused of blasphemy in Pakistan are Muslims, but members of religious minorities face an especially acute threat, according to rights groups.
Announcement – Scroll to Continue
Christians, who make up about 1.3 percent of Pakistan’s 250 million people, have been particularly at risk, with neighborhoods in the cities of Lahore, Gojra, Jaranwala and the capital Islamabad burned down or attacked following blasphemy accusations in the last years.
When violence against blasphemy breaks out, local police have been seen to step aside and allow mobs to carry out their attacks, often fearing that they themselves could be branded “blasphemers” for not allowing lynchings. .
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, some inherited from its former British colonial rulers, saw little use until the 1970s and 1980s, when they were strengthened and expanded to include several clauses specifically for insulting Islam.
Announcement – Scroll to Continue
As of 2023, there are at least 53 people in custody in Pakistan on blasphemy charges, according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Judges hearing blasphemy cases have reported facing pressure to pass sentences regardless of the evidence, for fear of being subjected to physical violence if they do not.
Under current laws, which were strengthened yet again this year, the crime of insulting the Prophet Muhammad carries a mandatory death penalty, while “desecrating” the Koran carries life imprisonment.
bur-aha/fox/being
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.